Parker Picot on the road to making MLB dream become reality
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (BVM) 鈥� Sports have been a focal point in Parker Picot鈥檚 family for as long as he can remember. Growing up, Picot, along with twin brother Tait and older brother Nicholas, were always playing something whether that was soccer, basketball, football or baseball.
鈥淎s much as I can remember, we always had a ball in our hand, we were always doing some sort of sport,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when we got to really develop a love for the game. It was an everyday thing. Here in the Picot house, we鈥檙e all sports.鈥�
While soccer and basketball eventually wore off, it was football and baseball that remained for the three brothers. In 2019, Parker and became rare freshmen to earn a spot on the varsity football roster at Rochester Adams, and got to play alongside Nicholas who was in his senior year that season.
Right off the bat, Parker made his name known, scoring the first time he touched the football on a kick return.
鈥淭hat was a big step for me,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淚 kind of came into realization that I have the ability to start and I have the ability to perform and go out there and do my thing.鈥�
Parker鈥檚 football career only took off from there. Despite COVID-19 impacting his sophomore season, the multi-sport athlete took over as Rochester Adams鈥� quarterback, leading the Highlanders鈥� veer offense at a position he had really never played in the past.
As he has with any challenge, however, Parker embraced it. By 2021, he led his team to a 13-1 record and MHSAA Division 1 state championship game appearance at Ford Field. Playing on both sides of the ball for the third straight year, Parker earned all-state honors as he combined for nearly 2,500 yards and 31 touchdowns in a season he’ll never forget.
Unforgettable season with unforgettable coaches and teammates!!
— Parker Picot (@ParkerPicot)
鈥淚鈥檇 say my junior year was one of those years that I鈥檒l always remember,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淲e had a group of guys that were best friends on and off the football field 鈥� There was a lot of team chemistry and I think that鈥檚 one of the big reasons why we got so far.鈥�
Last fall, Parker wrapped up his high school football career by leading Rochester Adams to a 10-2 record, accounting for nearly 3,000 total yards of offense and 40 touchdowns.聽
OUTTA MY WAY! bulldozes his way through the Clarkston defense – he just would not be denied! has tied things up once again. |
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET)
Both he and Tait were leaders of the squad as team captains, a fitting end to brilliant careers for both on the gridiron.
Finished up 鈥榮 Senior Highlights.
The best player in the state. How this kid doesn鈥檛 have 40+ football offers amazes me. Watch it and you鈥檒l wonder why too. Needless to say: was an absolute ball coaching him. Full video link here:
— Mark Patritto (@MarkieP_)
鈥淚t was a good, fun four years on the football field,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淟ot of memories. I鈥檒l never forget that.鈥�
Over the past couple of years, Parker鈥檚 play on the football field garnered plenty of attention, earning him college offers from the likes of Central Michigan and UMass. Yet, despite all the success on the gridiron, his true love resides on the baseball diamond.
鈥淚鈥檝e grown up playing football and baseball my whole life,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淲hen it was football season, it was football season, I鈥檇 set down the glove for baseball. And when it was baseball season, it was baseball season, and I鈥檇 set down the football. I鈥檝e had that constant love for both sports, but it kind of always fell back and graduated towards baseball.鈥�
Just as they did on the football field, Parker鈥檚 good speed and strong arm have stood out on the diamond for many years, beginning with his time playing on the JTB Tigers and the Motor City Hit Dogs during his youth.聽
鈥�23 OF Parker Picot () from the outfield. Strong overall day from the commit. ||
— Prep Baseball Michigan (@PrepBaseballMI)
鈥�23 OF Parker Picot () with a 6.58 60-yard. commit. ||
— Prep Baseball Michigan (@PrepBaseballMI)
Following a strong showing at a tournament in Cooperstown, New York when he was 12 years old, the versatile 6-foot-2, 200-pound utility player who plays in the infield, the outfield and pitches, knew baseball was his sport.
鈥淭hat was an awesome experience and that really kind of sparked my love for the game,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淭he ability to go out there, have fun, hit the ball around, make plays, that鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about, especially with your teammates and the ones you love.鈥�
As he鈥檚 moved up to playing with some of the best talent in the country with USA Prime National, Parker鈥檚 game has only developed further.聽
鈥淯SA Prime was an awesome decision for myself,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淧utting myself in that position only made me want to do better 鈥� Surrounding myself with that talent really helped me and it really helped me push my game to the next level.鈥�
Last summer, Parker had the chance to prove just how elite his talent was, particularly while earning the opportunity to compete at the East Coast Pro showcase.
鈥淚t was awesome recognition and a thing I was proud to be a part of,鈥� Parker mentioned. 鈥淎ll these events over the years kind of led to me falling more in love with the game and enjoying it more.鈥�
Yet, just as it was with football, some of Parker鈥檚 fondest memories in baseball have come at Rochester Adams. It didn鈥檛 necessarily start that way, though, as he was denied the chance to play another varsity sport alongside both of his brothers when the 2020 spring baseball season was canceled across Michigan.
鈥淚 was pumped up to play my freshman year,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淏oth of my siblings were supposed to be on varsity 鈥� That definitely would have been a pretty cool experience to have with my brothers.鈥�
Yet, Parker was still able to play travel baseball throughout the summer, putting him in position to succeed as a sophomore, a season in which he hit an impressive .467 as the Highlanders鈥� team chemistry continued to build.
鈥淓veryone was just itching to get back on the baseball field,鈥� Parker noted. 鈥淚t was a good year, I think the team played well.鈥�
That set the stage for a junior season in which he will never forget. In 2022, Parker broke Rochester Adams鈥� single-season home run record (10) and runs scored record (54). Meanwhile, the Highlanders also won their most games in program history with 33 as Parker batted .418 with 45 RBIs and 22 steals while also going 7-1 with a 1.16 ERA on the mound.
鈥淭he team did very well that year,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淚t was a season I was definitely proud to be a part of and a season I鈥檒l remember for a while.鈥�
Although the Highlanders鈥� current season didn鈥檛 quite start how Parker or his team envisioned, Rochester Adams has grown throughout the spring, and has itself towards the top of the league standings come postseason time.聽
鈥淗oping to finish off the season strong, and if our team comes together and we really just lock in as a team and do what we鈥檙e supposed to do, I think we have a chance to make a pretty good run,鈥� Parker said.
With multiple MLB scouts present at most of his games, expectations have been higher for the senior this spring. Yet, he has focused on tuning it out, doing whatever he can to help his team succeed. So far, that has led to impressive numbers yet again, including nine home runs. Parker has also set career program records for home runs and steals.
. with an RBI double to tie the game at two 鈿�
— The PreP (@ThePrep3)
鈥淚鈥檝e kind of tried shutting out what everyone else has to say,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my senior season, my last high school baseball that I鈥檒l ever play. I want to go out there, enjoy it the best I can with my teammates, my family, my coaches. The performance will come with the fun that I have.鈥�
Having fun and being a team player is also part of the legacy Parker hopes to leave at Rochester Adams.
鈥淚 just want to be somebody who鈥檚 remembered as a great guy, easy to talk to, great teammate who can just go out there and play,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淓veryday I go to practice and go to our games with a smile on my face and ready to go. If I want to be remembered by one thing, it would be to be remembered as a great person and an even better teammate.鈥�
Giving his senior season extra meaning is the final opportunity to play the sport alongside Tait as well. Growing up, the twins have relished sharing so many great moments together both on and off the field.聽聽
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 something that I鈥檓 very lucky to have,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淚 know a lot of people don鈥檛 really get to experience what it鈥檚 like to have a twin and have somebody through everything. Our relationship is very special. I know a few other sets of twins, nobody like us.
鈥淲e鈥檝e grown up playing every sport together, we鈥檝e been on the same team, we鈥檝e been in a lot of the same classes through our education. We鈥檝e always just loved each other, enjoyed each other and have been nothing but happy for each other.鈥�
Tait will head off to Alabama and may look to become involved with the Crimson Tide鈥檚 baseball program as a student manager. If he does, he will again be part of the same team as his twin brother.聽
Although Parker received plenty of interest from schools like Michigan, Duke, Boston College and Tennessee during his recruiting process, Alabama always stood out. The Crimson Tide were one of the first to reach out to the baseball standout, and between the campus, budding relationships with the coaching staff, and having family about an hour away in Helena, Alabama, Parker was sold early on.
MI 馃寠 AL 鈻讹笍 鈥�
— Alabama Baseball (@AlabamaBSB)
鈥淚鈥檝e been committed to Alabama since my freshman year in high school, and have been talking to them for a while now,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淭hroughout the past few years, we鈥檝e had a chance to visit campus a few times, and my freshman year we actually got to make it out to opening weekend 鈥� That was a pretty solidifying thing right there.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my home away from home there. It鈥檚 definitely a great place.鈥�
Playing in the SEC and competing for a national championship has long been a dream for Parker. As soon as next spring, that could become a reality.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to see where the future of the program lies,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淭his is kind of what I鈥檝e been waiting for my whole life, is to get this opportunity to go and play, and play in the SEC. I鈥檓 pumped up.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my goal for the next couple of seasons, just go out there and perform, and help my team win a national championship in Omaha.鈥�
Yet, there is a likelihood Parker hears his name called in this summer鈥檚 MLB draft as well. Should that happen, he will have a tough decision to make, but feels it鈥檒l work out either way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely pretty hard to tell right now,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淚 think I鈥檝e got both options available. The way I see it, it鈥檚 a win-win situation for me, whether that鈥檚 the draft come this year or whether I go to school this next year. I feel like I鈥檓 in a pretty good spot right now.鈥�
No matter when Parker begins his journey to the pros, it will begin what鈥檚 been a lifelong dream. While many players get drafted but never reach the big leagues, Parker is determined to make sure that鈥檚 not the case for him. Rather, he will work hard to achieve exactly what he wants, just as he has throughout his athletic career thus far.
鈥淐oming to the MLB and hearing my name called, that鈥檚 something that鈥檚 been a huge dream of mine ever since we were young,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淓verything that comes along with it, it鈥檚 something that I think every kid dreams of 鈥� I want to go out there and do that. I want to go out there and perform for everyone that鈥檚 rooting for me in my corner, and I want to go out there and perform for myself and get that dream I鈥檝e been working for my whole life.
鈥淚t would be something that I can鈥檛 even imagine. It鈥檚 something that鈥檚 absolutely unbelievable. I think I got what it takes to make it there. I鈥檓 a determined guy and I like to finish what I start. I鈥檝e started this journey, I鈥檓 not going to stop until I鈥檝e made it. That鈥檚 the dream, that鈥檚 the ultimate goal, and that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 going to end up.鈥�
